Holiday to Hawaii in Nov 2026: Day 2 – London Heathrow (LHR) to New York (JFK)

A classic early start at an airport hotel at Heathrow. A shuttle bus at the crack of dawn and a need to get our passports checked by BA. What’s not to love about going on holiday?

We caught the 4:30am shuttle, which was already waiting for pickups. A taxi driver politely invited us to use a taxi, which we equally politely declined.

We were dropped off in the normal place and we headed up to a very quiet T5. The major benefit of arriving by shuttle bus was being dropped off at the south end of T5, right next to The First Wing (TFW).

TFW was open and we were directed to desk 6 to have our boarding passes checked. New boarding passes were provided and we headed back to South Fast Track Security to go airside.

After a short walk to the escalator and back along to the South Lounges complex, we found there was a Tensa barrier stopping passengers heading up the escalator.

But the lift was working, which took us up to the lounges and we were straight into the CCR. Bizarre!

Into our favourite seats and a cappuccino was gratefully enjoyed to quell the minor caffeine headache.

Breakfast on the CCR terrace was enjoyed, although the normal complaints could be asserted: relatively cold food and tasteless mushrooms. First world problems…

Our flight to New York was due to leave from Gate C54, so we headed down to the C gates early in order to pick up a Starbucks.

Starbucks at the C gates was open when I flew to Amsterdam in Oct, but it was all boarded up now. I left Vick waiting at the gate and I scooted down to the B gates to pick up some coffee.

It was a bit of a trek, but Starbucks wasn’t busy. Another ‘flagship’ Starbucks store which refused to accept its own loyalty cards. Starbucks has messed up big time in allowing its franchisees to decide whether or not to support brand loyal customers.

When I got back to the gate, the gate team were ready to receive Group 0 passengers. We sat behind the gate area and that gave us time to finish our coffees.

About 15 mins later, we were advised we could head down the escalator and on to the aircraft. On into seats 01A and 02A and we were warmly welcomed by the cabin manager.

Lots of changes on board in First Class. A new amenity kit and a new style of menu, which was no doubt cheaper to produce.

It was old First, which was disappointing and the suite looked tired. But the team on board made up for the aging hard product. The soft product continues to keep BA at an acceptable level.

The movie selection was poor. I ended up watching LA LA Land again. Vick watched The Devil Wears Prada (again).

A number of bucks fizzs’ were offered and consumed as pre-flight drinks. Those continued through the early part of the flight.

We pushed back early and hit the runway in good time, so we were expecting to arrive early. As to whether there would be a gate available at T8 was another question.

One of the cabin crew had asked me what I was thinking re lunch but he said he would confirm after take off. I didn’t see him again.

Meanwhile the lunch service was being served around me. Eventually, someone came to lay my table, but didn’t confirm my order. So I was looking forward to seeing what turned up! It was all fine in the end.

The amuse bouche was good, although not spectacular. I guess the point is that it’s supposed to tickle the tastebuds, not take the prize for the best course!

We both started with the souffle, which was spot on. Light and fluffy but rich.

The lamb with pomme Anna, mixed veg and chimmichurri sauce was lovely, but as normal, the meat was overcooked. Vick reported the same with her beef.

I finished off with the sticky toffee pudding with ice cream which was lovely. I was warned about the ice cream being rock hard and it was!

A short nap ensued and when I woke, there was about 2 hours to go to JFK. It felt longer than 2 hours!

Overall, the service was pretty good. It was AA next as we were heading on to LAX after a chill in the Chelsea Lounge. AA won’t be anywhere near as attentive in business class.

We landed on runway 4L which was very smooth; in fact the whole flight had been pretty relaxed from a turbulence perspective. But from the runway, it took a while to taxi to Gate 20 at T8.